


We Used To Cuddle

by SomedayonBroadway



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Drunk Character, Foster Care, Previous Abuse, drunk talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25816111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomedayonBroadway/pseuds/SomedayonBroadway
Summary: It’s 2AM and Jack isn’t home.
Relationships: Racetrack Higgins & Jack Kelly
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	We Used To Cuddle

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi, friends! This is a request/Tumblr ask that I got a little bit ago for Race stepping up to sort of be the big brother.
> 
> Hope ya'll like it.

Race was worried. No. Scratch that. Race was beyond worried, Race was scared.

It was two AM. Miss Medda was asleep. They couldn't blow this one. Race was sure the next time they were moved, they'd be separated. Jack had promised him that it wouldn't happen. That he'd make sure of that.

And yet here Race was, sitting on the couch of this new, unfamiliar home, unsure of where his big brother was. He could be lying in a ditch, he could be beaten in an alley, he could be in the back of some stranger's car. The boy didn't know what to do.

There were other kids in this house. They were younger. Crutchie and Smalls. They loved it here. They said it was perfect here. But they were young and they were good kids.

They did not come from where Jack and Race came from.

The boy knew he couldn't wake Miss Medda. They couldn't be too much to handle here. They had to settle in. They had to make this one work.

When the door opened, Race shot up off the couch, rushing towards it and yanked on his brother's arm, quietly shutting the door behind him before pulling Jack to him. Jack stayed agonizingly still and quiet for a moment before lazy arms wrapped around him. "Where in the hell were you?" Race asked slowly, burying his head in Jack's chest like he always did when he was scared.

Jack smelled like beer. "Uhm…"

"Are you drunk?" Race pulled away from him, hissing out the question in complete disbelief.

His big brother blinked, a smirk spreading on his face. He shrugged. "Maybe a lil'..." he whispered with a small hiccup, spinning around before flopping back onto the couch with a giggle. "Hey… did ya know that if you get up high 'nough you can see the stars here?"

Race's mouth hung open. He tried to think of something, anything to say. He brought up his hands, unsure of what to do. "Jackie, what. The. Hell?" Jack didn't answer him. He just stared up at the ceiling like he could see the stars from there. It was then that it hit Racer that he must be seeing stars. So yes, it appeared that if Jack did get high enough, he could see stars. He looked around in the dark living room, trying to figure out what to do. He looked up the stairs. Then back down at his brother. It would be hard. But Race was sure he could manage. "Okay… okay…"

"You know you stress too much?" Jack asked drunkenly, pointing at him like he was trying to pick him out of a crowd, yet Race was the only one there. "Ya ain't like that—or ya wasn't like that… I dunno…" Jack laughed. Race rolled his eyes. "You should lemme paint ya! Racer…" he whispered, as though the younger boy wasn't already listening to him. "Racer! I's a really good painter! You's c'n relax if ya lemme paint ya—"

"I can relax when ya don't scare me half ta death by bein' out all night n' comin' back wasted!" Race snapped, grabbing his brother by the arm and forcibly pulling him up. "Jack, what were you thinkin'?!" Everything he said was hushed whereas Jack was moving between slurred hisses and mumbles.

Jack didn't seem to understand what the problem was. But he swayed on his feet as his baby brother slid his arm over his slim shoulders. Race was always so skinny. He was born early. He'd always been so small. But somehow, he was taking most of Jack's weight. Before Jack could even begin to fully see straight, he was stumbling up the stairs and Race was cursing under his breath.

"Jack, you have ta pick up your feet!" the younger boy hissed.

Trying to do as he was told, Jack paused for a moment, lifting up his foot to step and leaning into his brother more. He didn't remember climbing these stairs being so difficult. "Mmmmm why is the room spinnin'?" He gripped at the railing.

"Shhhh!"

"Shhhhh!" Jack mocked, though he gripped at his brother's shirt as he was led to their bedroom.

Once the door was shut he started giggling. Race did not find the situation funny. He dragged Jack over to his bed and let him fall down onto it with a small, purposeful push. The older boy didn't seem to care. "TJ… C'mere! C'mere! We c'n cuddle! We used ta cuddle! 'Memba' when we used ta cuddle?!"

Rolling his eyes, Race shook his head. He knew what Jack was referring to. They'd used to share a bed. It was all they had. A single twin mattress that lay on the ground with one blanket. When they were smaller, Race would nuzzle into Jack's side for warmth.

Without responding, Race grabbed his brother's ankles, throwing them up onto the mattress before slipping the shoes off of his feet. "Noooooo, my feet are cold! Wh't're ya doin'?"

"Shhhhh!"

Jack lifted his head up to get a blurry glance at his little brother. Race tore his socks off of his feet and tossed them into the hamper, while Jack rolled his eyes and groaned, feeling nauseous all of the sudden. He could feel his brother's frustration. It hurt him a little bit. "Racer… come lay down…" he prompted, hitting at the bed beside him.

Letting out a scoff, Race shook his head. "I ain't talkin' ta you right now…" the boy tried, pursing his lips in frustration and anger. He didn't look at his brother as he walked into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth, letting it run under the water for a moment before going back to Jack, sitting at the head of his bed and dabbing at his forehead.

Jack caught his wrist. "Kid, we used ta cuddle…" he whined dramatically.

If the younger boy wasn't so worked up, he might've laughed. His brother was always ridiculous, constantly trying to make him laugh. Jack knew him better than anyone. Jack knew how to make him smile. But not tonight. "JJ, shut up before someone hears you!" The way Jack's eyes bore into him made his heart clench.

"I… didn't mean to, Racer…" Jack whispered, seemingly sober for a single moment. "I j'st… can ya lay down with me? Please?"

There was a sort of desperation in Jack's eyes. So Race let out a long sigh and swung his legs up on his brother's bed, lying shoulder to shoulder with him before Jack rolled over, nearly on top of him, his chin on the boy's arm. "What were you thinkin'?"

Jack let out a sigh, pressing a kiss to Race's shoulder. "I w's just scared n'... I didn't wanna be scared no more…"

That certainly was not the answer Race had been expecting. "You're scared?"

Jack let out another groan, reaching up to try and grasp at his hair. Race nudged him. So Jack looked back up. He let out a sigh. "Papà… he got outta jail, uh… prison t'day… made parole…" Jack slurred, sounding a bit bored with the information. But the fear was still very much there.

So Race's eyes widened. "What?" That wasn't supposed to happen. That definitely was not supposed to happen. But he looked down at his big brother who was now sprawled out on top of him. The older boy looked terrified. So Race took a deep breath. "Jackie… we're gonna be okay—"

"How d'ya know that—"

"Because I got you! You'd neva' let no one touch me, n' that's a two way street, pal," he promised, trying not to think about it too hard. Jack wouldn't be able to cope with this right now. Not while he was under the influence. They both needed sleep. "Nothin's gonna happen…"

Jack relaxed against him at that. "Okay…"

Jack still smelled like beer. But Race just ran fingers through his hair and pressed a kiss to his head while the older boy's eyes began to droop. He relaxed into the mattress beneath him, unsure of what to do next. One thing was for sure, Jack never left him alone when he was scared.

So Race wouldn't either. He carefully brushed back his brother's hair as the older teenager slowly fell asleep.

"Don't worry, Jackie… I gotcha…" he promised. "I gotcha…"

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, fansies!


End file.
